Reflections on culture and ideas by author and illustrator Christopher Taylor

CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR'S BOOKS

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

FOR THE RECORD

"Its time for a Social Justice XMas!"

Christmas time is closing in on us again. Some stores had decorations and supplies up before Halloween, and some businesses were running vaguely Christmas holiday-themed ads before Halloween as well.

The most recent information I read shows that Halloween is actually a more popular holiday than Christmas today, with kids wishing Halloween would come sooner, last longer, and be more often through the year than Christmas. I guess if you get gifts and goodies all year long, one day where you get some more doesn't mean much. At least on Halloween you get to dress up.

As usual this time of year, people try to bend the events celebrated on Christmas to their political and social ends. Even some churches are guilty of this, posting about how a homeless refugee immigrant palestinian teen mother was turned away by cruel, heartless, and greedy businessmen.

Others, who routinely mock Jesus, disregard the Bible, and hurl contempt upon Christianity still try to use this same narrative about Christmas.

So, to clarify matters, I'd like to make a statement here so that we can all understand the events better.

Mary and Joseph on the road to Bethlehem were not homeless, they had a home in Nazareth.

They were not refugees, they were not fleeing a war-torn land. They were traveling to register for the census for tax purposes.

They were not immigrants, once they had done what the government required, they were planning to go home.

They were not turned away from the Inn by greedy or selfish rich people, the inn was jam packed with other people traveling to the area for the same reason - census, taxes.

The lesson of that day was not how cruel people are and how we should take people in, but how humble the origins and birth of the King of Kings was. The story of Christmas is about Jesus Christ, not some political agenda anyone wants to shoehorn into the text or stamp upon it to prove their point.

Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins and sin-nature, to live a perfect life we could not live, and to purchase our salvation at the dearest price possible. That's the message of Christmas.